Tiny Automation Scripts That Save Weeks of Work Per Year

Remember that mundane task you did yesterday? The one that took fifteen minutes and made you want to scream into the void? What if I told you that a five-minute script could eliminate it forever? Not metaphorically—literally every single day for the rest of your life. The beautiful irony of automation is that we often spend more time complaining about repetitive tasks than it would take to automate them. But here’s the thing: the payoff isn’t just about reclaiming those fifteen minutes today. It’s about reclaiming those fifteen minutes every single day, five days a week, fifty weeks a year. That’s roughly 62.5 hours. More than a full work week. Every year. Welcome to the world of tiny automation scripts—the most underrated productivity hack that actually works.

Why We Ignore the Small Stuff (And Why That’s Our Biggest Mistake)

There’s a psychological quirk that prevents most people from automating tasks that don’t take up massive chunks of time. We think: “It only takes five seconds. Why bother?” But here’s where our intuition betrays us. When you automate a five-second task that you do every single day, you’re not just saving five seconds. You’re removing friction. You’re eliminating decision fatigue. You’re ensuring you actually do the task instead of accidentally skipping it because you forgot or because you were in a hurry. The philosophy is simple: even very small inconveniences matter. And if you can spend a few minutes writing a script to make every day slightly more convenient, it’s probably worth doing. Let me give you a concrete example. I used to have a daily checklist in a plain text file. Whenever I finished work, I’d open it, read through the items, and check them off. Sounds simple, right? Except I constantly skipped steps. My brain would see “review weekly goals” and think, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to that,” and then I’d jump to the next item without actually doing it. Then I wrote a small script that prompted me through each item one at a time. Same checklist. Same items. Completely different behavior. I was far less likely to press the shortcut without actually completing the current task than I was to skip items when reading a list.

The Three Pillars of Personal Automation

Let me walk you through the framework I use to identify automation opportunities, then we’ll dive into actual code. Pillar 1: Frequency Matters More Than Duration A task that takes 30 seconds and happens once a month? Not worth automating. A task that takes 30 seconds and happens every workday? Absolutely worth automating. The formula is simple: frequency × time × impact = automation worthiness. Pillar 2: Nudges Beat Discipline Humans are notoriously bad at self-discipline. We’re great at optimizing our environment though. An automated script can give you the right nudge at the right time, making the desired behavior the path of least resistance. Pillar 3: API Integration Is Your Superpower Modern web services expose APIs. Most developers don’t realize how easy it is to chain these together and create powerful workflows. A few lines of bash using curl and jq can do what would take you hours to do manually.

Code Examples: From Theory to Practice

Script 1: The Daily Checklist Automation

Let’s start with something practical. Here’s a Python script that creates an interactive daily checklist that stores your top priority for tomorrow and displays it as your welcome screen the next morning:

import json
import os
from datetime import datetime
CHECKLIST_FILE = "daily_checklist.json"
PRIORITY_FILE = "top_priority.txt"
def load_checklist():
    if os.path.exists(CHECKLIST_FILE):
        with open(CHECKLIST_FILE, 'r') as f:
            return json.load(f)
    return {
        "Review weekly goals": False,
        "Plan tomorrow's tasks": False,
        "Review Beeminder goals": False,
        "Close distracting programs": False,
        "Set top priority": False
    }
def run_checklist():
    checklist = load_checklist()
    print("\n" + "="*50)
    print("DAILY END-OF-DAY CHECKLIST")
    print("="*50 + "\n")
    for item, completed in checklist.items():
        if completed:
            print(f"✓ {item} (already done)")
            continue
        response = input(f"\n→ {item}? (y/n/skip): ").lower().strip()
        if response == 'y':
            checklist[item] = True
            print("  ✓ Marked complete")
        elif response == 'skip':
            continue
        else:
            print("  → Remember to do this!")
    # Get top priority for tomorrow
    if checklist["Set top priority"]:
        priority = input("\n🎯 What's your #1 priority for tomorrow? ")
        with open(PRIORITY_FILE, 'w') as f:
            f.write(priority)
        print(f"Priority saved: {priority}")
    # Save checklist
    with open(CHECKLIST_FILE, 'w') as f:
        json.dump(checklist, f)
    print("\n✓ Checklist complete! Have a good evening.\n")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    run_checklist()

Run this at the end of your workday with a keyboard shortcut (we’ll get to that in a moment). The beauty? It won’t let you breeze past items. Each one demands explicit acknowledgment.

Script 2: Close Distracting Programs at Workday End

Cal Newport recommends a “shutdown ritual” to truly disengage from work. Here’s the problem: Slack is still open. Email is still open. Your brain never actually stops working.

import subprocess
import sys
import time
# Apps to close (macOS/Linux examples)
DISTRACTING_APPS = [
    "Slack",
    "Mail",
    "Messages",
    "Discord"
]
# Browsers tabs/windows to close (you'd need system-specific tools)
DISTRACTING_BROWSER_KEYWORDS = [
    "twitter",
    "facebook",
    "reddit",
    "news"
]
def close_applications():
    """Close distracting applications"""
    print("🚀 Initiating shutdown sequence...\n")
    for app in DISTRACTING_APPS:
        try:
            # macOS
            subprocess.run(
                ['osascript', '-e', f'quit app "{app}"'],
                timeout=2
            )
            print(f"✓ Closed {app}")
        except:
            # Already closed or not found
            pass
    time.sleep(1)
    print("\n✓ Distraction blockers activated!")
    print("🎉 You are now officially off work. Go do something fun.\n")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    close_applications()

On Windows, you’d use task scheduler. On Linux, you’d use pkill. The concept stays the same: your shutdown ritual includes actually severing the connection to work-related applications.

Script 3: Email Inbox Cleanup (The Nuclear Option)

This script connects to your email via IMAP and automatically archives old, low-priority messages:

import imaplib
import email
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
IMAP_SERVER = "imap.gmail.com"
EMAIL_ADDRESS = "[email protected]"
PASSWORD = "your-app-password"  # Use app-specific password!
def cleanup_inbox():
    # Connect to email
    mail = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL(IMAP_SERVER)
    mail.login(EMAIL_ADDRESS, PASSWORD)
    # Select inbox
    mail.select('INBOX')
    # Find emails older than 30 days from newsletters/notifications
    thirty_days_ago = (datetime.now() - timedelta(days=30)).strftime("%d-%b-%Y")
    # Search for old emails from specific senders (newsletters, etc)
    status, messages = mail.search(
        None,
        f'FROM "newsletter@" BEFORE {thirty_days_ago}'
    )
    if messages:
        email_ids = messages.split()
        print(f"Found {len(email_ids)} old newsletter emails\n")
        for email_id in email_ids[:50]:  # Limit to 50 per run
            # Move to archive (Gmail label)
            mail.copy(email_id, '[Gmail]/All Mail')
            mail.store(email_id, '+FLAGS', '\\Deleted')
            print(f"✓ Archived email {email_id}")
        mail.expunge()
        print(f"\n✓ Cleaned up {len(email_ids[:50])} emails")
    mail.close()
    mail.logout()
if __name__ == "__main__":
    cleanup_inbox()

Pro tip: Use app-specific passwords instead of your actual password. Most email providers support this.

Script 4: Desktop Organization (When Your Desktop Looks Like a War Zone)

Your desktop is a disaster. Files everywhere. It’s making you anxious just looking at it. Python can fix this in seconds:

import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path
def organize_desktop():
    """Move all desktop files into an organized folder structure"""
    desktop_path = Path.home() / "Desktop"
    # Create main organization folder
    org_folder = desktop_path / "Organized"
    org_folder.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    # Define file categories
    categories = {
        "Documents": [".pdf", ".doc", ".docx", ".txt", ".xlsx"],
        "Images": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".webp"],
        "Videos": [".mp4", ".mov", ".avi", ".mkv"],
        "Archives": [".zip", ".rar", ".7z", ".tar"],
        "Code": [".py", ".js", ".html", ".css", ".go"],
        "Other": []
    }
    # Create category folders
    for category in categories:
        (org_folder / category).mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    # Organize files
    for item in desktop_path.iterdir():
        if item.is_file() and item != org_folder:
            ext = item.suffix.lower()
            # Find appropriate category
            placed = False
            for category, extensions in categories.items():
                if ext in extensions:
                    shutil.move(str(item), str(org_folder / category / item.name))
                    print(f"✓ {item.name} → {category}")
                    placed = True
                    break
            if not placed and item.name != ".DS_Store":
                shutil.move(str(item), str(org_folder / "Other" / item.name))
                print(f"→ {item.name} → Other")
    print(f"\n✓ Desktop organized! Everything in: {org_folder}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    organize_desktop()

Yes, your desktop was organized in less time than it took you to read this section.

Script 5: API Integration—Syncing Your Goals Across Platforms

This is where things get genuinely powerful. Let’s say you use Beeminder for goal accountability and Complice for daily planning. Why manually add tasks when an API can do it?

import requests
import json
# These are fake credentials—use your actual API keys
BEEMINDER_API = "https://www.beeminder.com/api/v1"
BEEMINDER_TOKEN = "your-token-here"
COMPLICE_API = "https://complice.co/api/v2"
COMPLICE_TOKEN = "your-token-here"
def fetch_beeminder_goals():
    """Get all goals with progress due tomorrow"""
    url = f"{BEEMINDER_API}/users/me/goals.json"
    params = {"auth_token": BEEMINDER_TOKEN}
    response = requests.get(url, params=params)
    goals = response.json()
    # Filter for goals due tomorrow
    due_tomorrow = [
        goal for goal in goals 
        if goal['losedate']  # Goals that need attention
    ]
    return due_tomorrow
def add_complice_todos(todos):
    """Add tasks to your Complice inbox"""
    url = f"{COMPLICE_API}/todos"
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {COMPLICE_TOKEN}"}
    for todo in todos:
        payload = {
            "body": f"Beeminder: {todo['slug']} (due {todo['losedate']})",
            "inbox": True
        }
        response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
        if response.status_code == 201:
            print(f"✓ Added: {todo['slug']}")
        else:
            print(f"✗ Failed to add {todo['slug']}")
def sync_goals():
    """Main sync function"""
    print("Syncing Beeminder goals to Complice...\n")
    goals = fetch_beeminder_goals()
    print(f"Found {len(goals)} goals due tomorrow\n")
    if goals:
        add_complice_todos(goals)
    print(f"\n✓ Sync complete!")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    sync_goals()

This single script saves you the mental overhead of checking two different platforms and manually copying tasks. It’s beautiful. It’s efficient. It’s what programming was meant for.

Setting Up Automation: Making Scripts Actually Run

Here’s the trap: you write a great script, and then it never runs because you have to remember to run it manually. That’s not automation—that’s procrastination with extra steps.

On macOS/Linux: Cron Jobs

Edit your crontab:

crontab -e

Add a line for your script:

# Run daily checklist at 5:45 PM
45 17 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/daily_checklist.py
# Clean up desktop every Sunday at 9 AM
0 9 * * 0 /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/organize_desktop.py
# Sync goals every morning at 7 AM
0 7 * * 1-5 /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/sync_goals.py

The format is: minute hour day month day-of-week command

On Windows: Task Scheduler

1. Open Task Scheduler (search for it in the start menu)
2. Click “Create Basic Task”
3. Give it a name (e.g., “Daily Checklist”)
4. Choose a trigger (daily, weekly, etc.)
5. Set the action to run your Python script:
   • Program: C:\Python\python.exe
   • Arguments: C:\Scripts\daily_checklist.py

Keyboard Shortcuts (The Manual Override)

Sometimes you want to trigger scripts manually. On macOS/Linux, create shell aliases:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias checklist='python3 /path/to/daily_checklist.py'
alias cleanup='python3 /path/to/organize_desktop.py'
alias syncgoals='python3 /path/to/sync_goals.py'

Now you can just type checklist in your terminal and boom—script runs.

The Math: How This Actually Adds Up

Let me make the benefits concrete:

You’re looking at saving 74 hours per year by spending 8 hours on setup. That’s a 9:1 return on investment. But here’s what the spreadsheet doesn’t capture: the mental relief. You’re not wondering if you did something. You’re not feeling guilty about your cluttered desktop. You’re not frantically checking two different apps to see what you need to do. The automation handles it. Your brain gets to focus on actual work.

The Ripple Effects

There’s something else that happens when you start automating your small tasks. You develop an automation mindset. You start looking at everything and thinking: “Could this be automated?” That email filter? Now it’s smarter than you ever made it manually—it learns from every message you archive. That daily checklist? It’s now connected to multiple services, pulling information from everywhere and synthesizing it into one simple interface. That desktop cleanup? It runs every week, so your desktop never becomes a disaster in the first place. Each automation is small. But together? They change how your day feels. They give you back dozens of hours. They make you slightly more likely to actually do the things you want to do, because you’ve made it frictionless.

Getting Started: Your Three-Step Action Plan

Step 1: Audit Your Week Write down every task you do that takes less than 15 minutes but happens multiple times. Don’t be modest—write everything. “Checking my calendar,” “formatting that spreadsheet,” “downloading the daily report,” all of it. Step 2: Pick One Task Choose the most annoying one. The one you dread. The one you’d be happiest to never do again. Don’t pick the most complex one—pick the one that will make you smile when it’s automated. Step 3: Spend 30 Minutes Build a basic script. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need to handle every edge case. It just needs to handle your most common case. Test it. Schedule it. Celebrate. Then repeat.

The beautiful thing about automation is that it compounds. Each script saves a little time. Together, they save weeks. And as you build more scripts, you get faster at building them. What takes three hours the first time takes thirty minutes the tenth time. You’re not going to automate your entire life in a day. But you can automate one thing. And one thing is enough to start.